How to safely remove software and files from your PC
The first step is to decide which programs you no longer need. Try to keep only the programs you use regularly as it’s easy to become a digital packrat. If it helps, make a list of programs you want to keep and others you can do away with.
Has it been a year since your child touched that action game? Chances are you still have the original CDs anyway (should you want to reinstall it in the future), so perhaps it’s time to wipe it off the hard drive.
Have your music tastes changed since you went through that Country & Western “stage”? You can easily delete downloaded MP3 files—or at least burn them to a CD to free up space on your PC.
If you’re unsure about a program that’s on your hard drive, you can always do a search at your favorite search engine (e.g., Live Search) to see what it is. For example, if you don’t plan on buying a camcorder, remove any preinstalled video-editing software that may have come bundled on your PC. (more…)
